Build a Season That Sells: Smart Ticketing Strategies for Community Theatres

If you are an industrious community theatre leader, you may be looking for new and dynamic ways to sell more tickets during your upcoming season. After all, building a lucrative, sustainable ticketing strategy isn’t just about setting competitive prices – it’s about crafting a patron experience that drives loyalty, revenue, and buzz. If you’re aiming to build a season that truly sells, you need the right tools, plus a few creative strategies, for your best-selling season yet – and On The Stage can help. We offer several smart ticketing strategies.

Smart Ticketing Strategies for Your Upcoming Season 

1. Rethink Subscriptions for Today’s Audience

It’s no secret that modern theatre patrons crave flexibility and diversity. Instead of the “all-or-nothing” subscriptions of days past, you can rethink subscriptions so that they meet different guests exactly where they are. In short: Bundle smart, not broad. Your packages should be as diverse as your patrons! Ideas for subscriptions that break the mold include:

• Build-Your-Own Bundles: Perhaps you have a loyal patron who doesn’t particularly like dramas or musicals. Cater to them and their interests by letting them mix and match different works within your season instead of buying everything outright. If you have a top-of-the-line ticketing software, it should automatically apply a subscriber discount once the qualifying number of performances is added to their cart.
• Themed Bundles: Another way to rethink subscriptions and make your theatre more accessible is by creating fun, well-marketed themed bundles that appeal to certain patrons. These could be as broad as the ‘Musical Bundle’ or ‘Kid-Friendly Bundle,’ or as specific as the ‘Spooky Bundle,’ if you have two or more works that deal with darker themes. (Sweeney Todd, anyone?) 
• Rolling or Monthly Theatre Membership: If you have the infrastructure to support it, another innovative idea is to present your community theatre offerings like a streaming subscription: All access for a certain amount of time, with a monthly or bi-monthly payment. Just make sure you have enough programming within those time frames to make this worth people’s money. 

2. Offer Tiered Ticketing to Incentivize Early Action

Flat pricing for community theatre ticketing leaves money on the table and also limits accessibility. Consider offering tiered ticketing options instead, as well as situational/timely discounts, which can help diversify your audiences, build urgency, and maximize revenue. A few ideas to start you on the journey include: 

• Early Bird Pricing: Offering a ticket discount within the first few days of a sale helps to encourage early commitment, boost upfront cash flow, and gauge demand. 
• Loyalty Discounts: Loyalty should be rewarded. Consider offering discounts for repeat patrons, which encourages continued allegiance to your theatre and also showcases future perks to first-time ticket buyers.
• Urgency Creation: Offer limited-time promo codes or flash sales to your patrons during lulls in ticket sales. This increases the urgency to buy now and helps patrons feel like they’re also getting a deal. 
• Unique Perks for Early Ticket Buyers: Along the same lines as early bird discounts, offer other special perks to those buying early, like VIP experiences, prime seat reservations, upfront parking, and the like. This, again, encourages early action and helps get more cash flow into your theatre’s pockets from the jump.

Did you know? 

On The Stage’s ticketing software can help grow ticket sales by 20-25% through its all-in-one ticketing platform that is free to your organization. Even better, the platform offers the aforementioned tiered ticketing, where you can offer separate pricing options per seat, section, or show. You can also set additional prices for in-person sales with our free ticket management software!

Additionally, OTS offers best-in-class promo code capabilities, which can provide incentives for new ticket buyers, encourage previous ticket buyers to come back for more, provide perks for your all-important donors, partner with local businesses to drive sales, fill the house on certain historically low-ticket sales days, and so much more.

3. Implement Add-Ons that Go Beyond the Basics

If you plan well enough, each ticket can be a gateway to more selling opportunities, and not final sales in and of themselves. Brainstorm innovative theatre ticketing ideas that stretch past what’s expected, and instead offer enticing add-ons that will incentivize larger Average Order Values and more ticket sales in total. A few add-ons that can be implemented include:

• VIP Themed Experiences: Consider hosting themed programming for VIP guests that relates to whatever show you’re promoting at the time. This makes them feel important, and also offers the opportunity for some user-generated content. 
• Behind-The-Scenes Access: Whether this is physically (through backstage tours or meetings with the actors) or digitally (through never-before-seen content), you can allow certain patrons a peek behind the proverbial curtain. 
• Loyalty Programs & Clubs: A great way to keep your patrons engaged and excited about your programming is by rewarding their loyalty through exclusive clubs, perks, or programs. 
• Merchandise Bundles: Consider auto-suggested merchandise bundles during checkout to increase your AOV, whether that’s a bundle with an enamel pin, concessions, T-shirts, or signed programs. 

Did you know?

With the OTS Add-On Feature, you can easily provide your patrons with any type of supplemental offering outside of your standard ticket right within the purchase process. And in doing so, you will maximize the dollars you generate on every order to keep your theatre thriving while at the same time providing an elevated and memorable theatrical experience for your patrons.

4. Promote like a Pro

Remember that a clever, lucrative, or well-thought-out promotion means very little if no one sees it. That’s why marketing is so important – and you can elevate your ticket sales with a multi-pronged approach. A few ideas include:

• Capitalizing on Segmentation: Your marketing and promotional efforts should not be one-size-fits-all. That means you should be utilizing audience segmentation techniques to get your messaging out to as many demographics as possible. Pull patron data from your ticketing software and tailor offerings by genre preferences, age, or average money spent at the theatre. 
• Thinking Beyond Facebook & Posters: There are thousands of ways to promote your show, and if you’re just going with the oldest or most stable forms of promotion, you likely won’t see the numbers (or age demographics) that you want. Instead, enact a multichannel promotional effort that spans all social media platforms, as well as print media, community calendars, and more. 
• Considering Cross-Promotion: Community partnerships can be your theatre’s bread and butter if you play your cards right. Partner up with libraries, other creatives in your area, schools, restaurants, and coffee shops to spread the word about your showcases, place flyers, or swap QR codes. Alongside helping another business out, you’re also able to reach more audiences yourself without spending any money. 
• Utilizing Automated Emails: Email marketing is another incredibly handy tool in your theatre promotional belt if used correctly. Make sure to use your email list wisely – sending out both necessary and just-for-fun messaging and reminders for upcoming shows at the right times. 

Did you know?

On The Stage (OTS) offers best-in-class marketing and promotional tools across social, digital, email, print, and traditional channels that are built on unparalleled industry expertise. Our consolidated platform has everything you need to successfully market your productions and generate more revenue.

5. Lean into the Data 

After the curtain closes on a show, you should start reviewing the data and numbers ASAP to ensure smarter planning for the next go around. After all, reviewing your metrics is quite literally the easiest and most intuitive way to improve your performance – you’re given all the info you need to succeed. A few things to review when looking at the data include:

• Heat Maps of Seat Popularity: Whether or not your shows are selling out, which seats are the most popular, and which are often chosen last, or not at all? Does this correlate to view, pricing, or general availability? Adjust what needs to be adjusted to ensure all seats in your theatre are desirable. 
• Add-On Adoptions: How many people kept the auto add-on suggestions at checkout? Which add-on bundles were most popular? Adjust your marketing copy or the bundles themselves to maximize your revenue.
• First-Time Buyers vs. Loyal Patrons: What are the ratios for each production as it relates to returning customers vs. new ones? Not only is it important to know how many people you’re enticing back, but these ratios are also crucial if you’re filling out grant applications. If you notice your returning patrons are waning, now is the time to work on retention efforts, as well.
• Sales Velocity Curves: When do your ticket sales tend to peak during your marketing calendar? Adjust your efforts to ride that engagement wave.
• Advanced Sales vs. At-the-Door Sales: How many folks are you getting from advanced marketing strategies versus day-of, impulsive ticket sales? Adjust your marketing efforts accordingly. 

Another great way to examine data is by gathering it yourself from the most important folks of all: the patrons. Post-show surveys, for example, let you ask your patrons exactly how they felt about your offerings, from the check-out process to the front-of-house experience and the show itself.

Partner with On The Stage

The time is now to improve upon your ticketing strategies for the fall season. If you need a partner in that journey, On The Stage can help. On The Stage empowers your organization with the best way to sell tickets and manage box office, marketing, and fundraising activities in one robust ticketing platform – all for free. If you’re ready to get started, book a personalized demo today.